KARACHI, Pakistan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has risen as a symbol of Islamic renaissance because of his firm stand on issues relating to the Muslim community, the President of Pakistan-administered Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan said Friday.

Khan said Ankara has emerged as a "center of hope" for the Muslim world during a ceremony in Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Islamabad-controlled portion of Kashmir, also known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The ceremony was to honor faculty members and students of the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir who are going to Turkey to study under the Turkish Council of Higher Education International Scholarship Program 2020.

Khan said the move would further strengthen the already strong bonds between Turkish and Kashmiri people as he thanked the Turkish government and the Turkish Council of Higher Education for facilitating quality higher education to Kashmiri students.

Appreciating Ankara's longstanding "principled" stand on the Kashmir issue, Khan said the "boldness" Erdogan demonstrated on the lingering dispute at every international forum, including at the UN General Assembly last year, has no "precedence."

He noted Ankara's assistance after a 2005 earthquake that killed more than 80,000 people, and aid after 2010 flash floods in Kashmir, and said Turkey has always helped Pakistan and the Kashmiri people in "every difficult hour."

He invited Turkish investors to invest in agriculture, tourism, and education sectors in Azad Kashmir.

Turkey’s Ambassador to Pakistan Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul said students selected for the program would enjoy the history, culture, and natural beauty of Turkey, in addition to getting a quality education.

He emphasized that Ankara would continue to support the AJK government in developing its education sector.